Sidewalks are the building blocks of an effective pedestrian network. There are currently more than 2,000 miles of sidewalks in Seattle, yet many areas in the city do not have sidewalks at all.

SDOT is committed to increasing the number of sidewalks in the city. The Bridging the Gap transportation levy has funded sidewalk maintenance and improvements projects. In addition to local funds, SDOT also looks for state or federal grants to build sidewalks.

SDOT’s Sidewalk Development Program built the following new sidewalk connections in 2013:

NE 125th Street between 35th Avenue NE and Sand Point Way NE, on north side

N 90th Street between Dayton Avenue N and Fremont Avenue N, on south side

13th Avenue NW between NW 90th Street and Holman Road NW, on west side

NW 90th Street between 12th Avenue NW and 13th Avenue NW, on north side

Will SDOT be building a sidewalk in my neighborhood?

The mission of SDOT’s Sidewalk Development Program is to construct new sidewalks throughout Seattle. Projects are selected using the Seattle Pedestrian Master Plan, which is a long-term action plan to make Seattle the most walkable city in the nation. The plan establishes the policies, programs, design criteria and projects that will further enhance pedestrian safety, comfort and access in all of Seattle’s neighborhoods.

The Plan’s analysis addresses two overarching categories when it comes to prioritizing potential sidewalk projects. The first is referred to as ‘Along the Roadway.’ This component considers the presence of existing sidewalks primarily, and also looks at other characteristics that influence conditions from a pedestrian standpoint—physical buffers such as on-street parking, traffic speeds & volumes, and block length. The basemap for this part can be found here.

The second category identifies ‘High Priority Areas’ in the city. This is made up of three separate demand analyses (potential pedestrian demand, socioeconomic / health equity, and corridor function). These three components were weighted and combined to identify the High Priority Areas.